1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer-based network printing method and system, which enables printing from a printer connected, directly or indirectly, in a network system to a host computer, terminal computers and other printers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer networks and printers that connect to the network are not new. These network print systems include a host computer, terminal computers and printers, all of which are interconnected by way of a computer communications network. The host computer manages the terminal computers that are used by respective network users. The users are able to access various printers because the printers are connected to the network and are thus, common network resources. There are various places where the printers may be located. For example, all printers may be located in the same place, different places in one building, or distributed throughout different buildings.
As recognized by the present inventor, conventional network print systems have problems. For example, a user must select one of the network printers as a prerequisite for printing. Therefore, the print output is directed to the selected printer and not another one of the available printers. Security is another problem. Conventional network printing systems have a number of users with a number of printers, where the printed output of the respective printers are available for inspection by other users. Moreover, suppose a user prints a confidential documents on a selected printer, which is connected to a network system, other user can observe, or extract, the contents of the printed document (inadvertently, or intentionally).
Japanese patent document, JLOP 4-48323 shows a print server, which has a stacker for stacking printed documents. In this print server, the stacker has a feature that allows the user to take the printed documents only when the user inputs a correct password. Thus, the only the user who has the proper password privilege can observe or extract the printed document.
However, in this conventional print server, the user can only retrieve the printed document from the selected printer, and therefore, cannot retrieve the document from another printer. Attempting to designate multiple or all printers for printing the document gives rise to a security problem.